A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....12-29-05....The Pear Tree: Lessons in Life

DollyCali | December 29, 2005 | DollyCali

[DollyCali]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

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A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

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~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, Mama_Bear, GodBlessUSA ~

The Pear Tree

Day’s End, Year’s End, Life’s End
Lessons in Life

There was a man who had four sons. They were all different and he wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. It looked dead. The harsh winter showed the bare bones existence of a difficult time, where little was nice & all around was cold & painful,

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The warmth of sunshine & new life was unfolding but the ground around was muddy & dirty. Some of the surrounding trees did not survive the harsh winter.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen, it was surrounded with beauty and there was a rich carpet of soft emeralds underneath the boughs. The dead trees around had been removed & just beauty was there.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. There were people around enjoy the bounty.. So much bounty that some was rotting on the ground below giving off fermenting odors. The tree was giving to all who wanted but some of the leaves were already falling & brown. It seemed perhaps the tree was dying.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season/one event/one time, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

resulting lessons:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don’t let the pain of one event cloud the present joys available. Therefore don't judge life by one difficult season.

Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later. Don’t judge a person by some things that are out of your comfort zone.

Look at the whole picture of the person. See the spring, summer, fall and winter of this person to see them as God does. Respond to them as God does. Love them as God does.

Understand that the “tickling of your comfort zone” is God’s way of helping you grow as a person

In the year ahead look to yourself to have more patience, more compassion, more forgiveness, more joy, more godliness. Let your life be the tree of beauty, promise & bounty. The tree that will produce fruit.

The end of a day, the end of a year, the end of a life are all milestones & all can be measured. Try to see them each through the eyes of your creator and live them in a worthy manner.

Ecclesiastes 3 -- A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

12-28-05 ~ Hall of Fame #14

Click on the photo to view the album. To submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45Man at danbh59@yahoo.com and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Those are beautiful flowers, Meg, thanks.

[La Enchiladita]

Amen, MEG33. Nice post.

[Kitty Mittens]

Thank you, dear (((((((Meg)))))))! Your Post is One of the Most Beautiful I have Ever Seen! I Praise our Sweet Savior in Heaven for His Lovely Creation!

[MEG33]

Thank you, Kitty Mittens! I love wild flowers. Dolly's theme and the Mayor's devotional inspired me. Flowers are truly one of God's gifts to us.

[nicollo]

Happy New Year to you and one and all here at FR, Dolly.

All the best for '06!

[WVNan]

we need to look to the next three months for a WV/Ohio get together

Yes. Spring is good. As I recall, we met when the dogwoods were in bloom.

[WVNan]

JK has a late afternoon family portrait appointment

Ah the photographer's life. Hey, why don't you and JK raise a glass for me tonight. I'll be sitting alone watching the ball fall and enjoying my Christmas tree. (Come to think of it though, that will be three hours before your new year starts....never mind).

[Mama_Bear]

(Come to think of it though, that will be three hours before your new year starts....never mind).

LOL!! You mean you don't trust me to start that early?? Heck, I was thinking of toasting in the New Year for ALL the time zones. ;-)

BTW, thanks for asking KET to send those pictures. That was so sweet of both of you. I replied to her, but my e-mail was rejected by her server. Don't know why. Anyway, I will e-mail a copy of it to you and you can forward it to her, okay?

Happy New Year, Nan!

[WVNan]

I told KET to send the animal pics. Thought we might be able to use them on the next pet thread. I loved the bunnies in the sacks, and the one with the cat & bunny.

Okay, if you want to start toasting three hours early, it's fine with me. I'll probably toast with eggnog.

[Mama_Bear]

Okay, if you want to start toasting three hours early, it's fine with me. I'll probably toast with eggnog.

Maybe I will toast with Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng. I love that stuff! :-)

I will save all of KET's photos. Am hoping I can find them if we ever need them. My filing system needs improvement. LOL

[Aquamarine]

Come celebrate the New Year with us.

New Years Traditions ...Past and Present